THE NEW YORK TIMES: Sweden has been widely condemned for allowing the burning of the Muslim holy book outside a mosque on Wednesday during Eid al-Adha, a major Islamic holiday.
The burning of a Quran outside a mosque in Sweden on one of the holiest days in Islam sparked outrage Thursday in many Muslim countries and widespread condemnations of the Swedish authorities.
In Iraq, several hundred people protested outside the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad at the urging of Muqtada al-Sadr, a populist cleric who called on the Iraqi government to break off diplomatic relations with Sweden, which he called “hostile” to Islam.
The crowd became increasingly angry, scaling the wall surrounding the compound and pushing through an external gate. There was no sign that Iraqi diplomatic police forces attempted to stop them. The protesters did not enter the embassy itself, which was closed for the Islamic holiday, and eventually left. Mr. Sadr called for larger protests after prayers on Friday.
Iraq’s foreign ministry also condemned Sweden “for allowing an extremist to burn a copy of the holy Quran.”
In the incident in Stockholm on Wednesday, two men, watched by a crowd of people, tore pages out of a Quran and burned them outside a mosque. » | Alissa J. Rubin and Isabella Kwai, Alissa Rubin reported from Baghdad, and Isabella Kwai from London | Thursday, June 29, 2023
